To My Friends: It’s Amnesty Week

The Associated Press reports that librarians from Winona Public Library in Minnesota were ecstatic after a borrower returned a book that was checked out about thirty-five years ago as part of their Amnesty Week for overdue books. Library records confirmed that the book was checked out some time in the nineteen-seventies, but updates to the circulation system had prevented them from tracing the borrower. According to the Winona Daily News, the overdue fine would have topped $1,400.

Though this may seem like small-town fare, it made me wish I could hold my own amnesty week for books I’ve lent to friends, some of whom I’ve fallen out of touch with over the years. I’ve loaned out so many great titles—ones that I still recall fondly (perhaps just as fondly as some of the faded friendships)—like my copy of “The Great Gatsby,” which has my notes scribbled in the margins. Since I’m always recommending books to friends, and will usually offer up my own copy to expedite our follow-up conversation, I don’t foresee this pattern changing anytime soon. But I’m hopeful that some of my missing books will find their way back to my bookshelf. Tracking down old friends, after all, can be pleasant. It’s when a book winds up with an ex that things get tricky: I’ve heard a few sad tales over the years about beloved books that were lost in a split, the most memorable being a first-edition of “Anna Karenina” that a friend of mine loaned to a girlfriend years ago. The girl, who’s getting married to someone else imminently, still doesn’t seem too concerned with returning it. There are nice stories, as well, though: one of my friends shipped my copy of “Cat’s Cradle” from overseas, after having it for more than a year and without provocation. What a true gentleman of the literati! I’m sure there are other great stories of long-lost loaned books out there, so please share yours in the comments below!

And for those with overdue library books in New York City, I spoke with a librarian at the New York Public Library’s reference desk this morning who said she only remembers one Amnesty Week years ago and there are no current plans for another one. So if you’re feeling guilty about your overdue book, you’ll have to pay the fine. Hopefully it won’t be quite as much the one owed by our friend in Minnesota.